Saskatchewan has chosen the 51 owners who will operate cannabis retail stores in the province.

More than two-thirds of the successful applicants are from Saskatchewan or have operations in the province.

“This represents the next step in the process of having a privately-operated cannabis retail system carefully regulated by SLGA,” Minister Responsible for SLGA Gene Makowsky said.

“There was a lot of interest in the public Request for Proposal process, resulting in many new businesses that will invest in our province.”

The successful proponents were selected through a two-phase Request for Proposal that began in March. The first phase involved a screening qualification focused on financial and sales/inventory tracking systems. Everyone who qualified from phase one was entered into phase two which was a lottery draw to select the operators.

The successful proponents have 45 days to begin the permitting process. As a condition of their permit, retail cannabis permits must be operating within 12 months of legalization. Permits will take effect once legalization occurs.

Cannabis stores must be stand-alone operations, selling only cannabis, cannabis accessories and ancillary items as defined by SGLA.Cannabis retail stores are also subject to local municipal zoning bylaws.